I want to get a rifle in 223 and was thinking about maybe an AK this time since I have had nothing but problems with the three AR's I have owned.  Not trying to start a flam war about AR's vs AK's just have had bad luck with AR's I have owned. I am very bad about cleaning and the AK's are more forgiving. I have owned three AK's in 7.62x39 and never had one problem with them.
So what are differences between 7.62x39 and 223 when it comes to AK's?

                                                                                                               Thanks for your help!!!

                                                                                                                Force-Recon

Quoted: I want to get a rifle in 223 and was thinking about maybe an AK this time since I have had nothing but problems with the three AR's I have owned.  Not trying to start a flam war about AR's vs AK's just have had bad luck with AR's I have owned. I am very bad about cleaning and the AK's are more forgiving. I have owned three AK's in 7.62x39 and never had one problem with them. So what are differences between 7.62x39 and 223 when it comes to AK's?                                                                                                                Thanks for your help!!!                                                                                                                 Force-Recon

The rifle odds are will not be an issue, mags will.  No refits period, and wiegers are said to work best.

Parts specific to calibre are really all that changes, accuraccy beyond 100yds will be much better however the trade off is it is a rodent round.  If you want a smaler round consider 5.45 instead.  Talk to the ARmchair commandos about which 5.56/.223 to use.

The reason I was thinking of an AK in 223 is beacuse I have a lot of ammo that I would like to use in a rifle with less problems.


                                                                                   F-R

There are a few ways to go here.

SAR / WASR-3 in .223  Some have problems with feeding, extracting, ejecting,
or what ever can go wrong with them.  The usual problems with canted GB and FSB.

Saiga conversion.  Good way to go... if you can find one. Either a DIY or a send off if you
have the spare $$$ and time.

VEPR.  Top of the line, turn key, no looking back here.  Great weapon in any caliber.
Start saving your cash now.

Magazines are the big issue with .223.  Weiger, Bulgy Waffles, converted 74's, what ever you pick,
get a bunch and have a blast with them. The mods on the mags arent too difficult.
My Saiga conversion kicks about the same and my '74 does and the Saiga has no brake on it.
A pleasure to shoot and accurate too.

If you get one and shoot it you will love it.

Jeff

Quoted: There are a few ways to go here. SAR / WASR-3 in .223  Some have problems with feeding, extracting, ejecting, or what ever can go wrong with them.  The usual problems with canted GB and FSB. Saiga conversion.  Good way to go... if you can find one. Either a DIY or a send off if you have the spare $$$ and time. VEPR.  Top of the line, turn key, no looking back here.  Great weapon in any caliber. Start saving your cash now. Magazines are the big issue with .223.  Weiger, Bulgy Waffles, converted 74's, what ever you pick, get a bunch and have a blast with them. The mods on the mags arent too difficult. My Saiga conversion kicks about the same and my '74 does and the Saiga has no brake on it. A pleasure to shoot and accurate too. If you get one and shoot it you will love it. Jeff

Forgot the Arsenal SAM5.  Eventhough Arsenal says they are out of production, you can still find them on Auction sites and at gun shows.

What make of AR's did you have???

You can still occasionally find a Chinese BWK-92, basically a .223 MAK-90. One of the WA hometown people recently picked one up for less than $400. Not hard to re-evilize, decently accurate and quite reliable. The Chinese mags are getting to be expensive, but a .223 follower in a steel Tantal mag works well enough. (I'm speaking from my personal experiences with my rifle.) You can also still find the Bulgi plastic 5.56 waffles, which work well, but they're as pricey as the Chinese mags anymore.

AK and 223/5.56 is a great match.  I have a SAM-5S, a SAR-3 and a "pre-ban" Norinco 84s.  All great shooters and utterly reliable.

SAM-5 runs about $700 right now and Bulgy polymer 30-round mags are about $40.

SAR-3 runs about $400 now and mags (Weigers) run about $15 each.  Typical Romy, ugly but works great.  

The Norinco 84s runs about $750-$800 right now in excellent condition.  Norinco mags run from $25 (for 15 and 20-round mags) to about $75 (for 40-round mags).  Chicom AKs are fabulous and overbuilt.    I love'em, and they have more soul than any Arsenal or VEPR and the smoothest AK fcg available.

Poly Technologies made an AKS (with underfolding bayo) in 5.56 but the mags are a different pattern than Norinco and run about $100 to $150 apiece.

Norinco MAK-90 models in 5.56 are available in the $400 range with the thumbhole stock - and take the Norinco mags.

VEPR:  Great firearm if you can live with butt-ugly furniture and a questionable importer.

Advice:  Want a shoter, get MAK or SAR.  Want something to be proud of in 10-years, spend the money and pick up a Norinco 84s or Arsenal SAM-5.  Pricey but money well spent.  

I have two AKs in .223 and they are both fine rifles. They are the Vepr .223k and a Saiga I converted to the EVIL DARK SIDE. They are both 100% reliable. The Vepr K is set up to use the 74mags that have the robinson follower and the Bulgarian mags and they both work great however the 74 mags are a little esier to change out. I have converted several 74mags and they all run like a champ with the .223 follower. The Saiga is set up to use 35rd Galil orlite mags that are .223 magsand you can get them for $15 from CDDN new. The trick with those is the feed ramp when you make it. I had to work woth it a little to get it to feed properly but it can use the Galil mags and some 74 converted mags that are fit to the Saiga and both types have ran 100%for me so far. If you do not want to try to find a Saiga or do all that work I recomend you go with a VeprK in .223 or I would get an Arsenal in .223. Just my two little cents and never humble opinion.  

Thanks for all the help and info!!!!!

                                          Force-Recon

I have a converted Saiga .223 and love it.  You can use AK74 mags, which are relatively cheap.  You just need to dremel a little off of the feed lips and swap in a RobinsonArmament follower.  Install a feed ramp and you're good to go.